Fair and festivals of Rajasthan

Fairs and festivals of Rajasthan reflect the vigour and life style of its people. Vibrant colours, music and festivities make the golden sands come alive. Veiled, bejewelled women sing and dance to devotional rhythms. Itinerant bards render ballads of valour of the heroes of yore. Alongside, brisk trading of consumer goods, cattle and grains is carried on.

Nomadic tribes and traditional entertainers - minstrels, jugglers, puppeteers and performers come together at these fairs seeking livelihood. Rajasthan has a fair for every religious occasion, for every change of season and for every harvest.

There is no region in Rajasthan without its cattle fairs. Nagaur, merta, tilwara, parbatsar, jhalarpatan, gogamedi and pushkar are full of colour and gaiety. These are held each year, on certain fixed dates of the launar calendar, which have specific religious significance.

The activities at the fair are diverse : livestock is sold, village produce and handicrafts find a ready market and even matches are arranged for eligible boys and girls by the kinfolk gathered together. With nightfall, comes singing and dancing and variety of entertainment.

Nagaur fair,
(jan.-feb.)

Nagaur awakens to bustling life every year with the thronging of cattle, horses and camels accompanied by their turbaned owners and eager buyers. This cattle fair held annually is supposed to be one of the largest in the country.

The nagaur bulls are renowned for their fleet-footedness and therefore, attract buyers from all over. The day starts with buyers and sellers engaged in earnest bargains. Once the price of a horse, bullock or probably a camel has been settled, the day draws to a close with fun and festivity. Games, tug of war, camel races and strains of ballads create a joyful atmosphere with the setting sun in the background.

Desert festival jaisalmer (jan.feb.)

For three days jaisalmer gets a chance to parade its charms to the world. Some chosen and cherised moments of its glorious past and rich culture are on display. The traditional dances
Accompained by high pitched music on instruments take the folk dancers one step back into time.

The famous gair dancers and the fire-dancers steal the show whenever they perform. There is further excitement afoot with the turban-tying competition and mr. Desert contest. The grand
Finale is a trip to the sand dunes at sam where one can enjoy and have the pleasure of a camel ride and at times also view the musicians and dancers performing on the dunes.

Baneshwar fair , baneshwar (jan.-feb.)

Held in the dungarpur district of Rajasthan, the fair derives its name from the revered shiva linga of that area. Predominantly a tribal affair with more than half the congregation being bhils,
Thousands gather near the confluence of the mahi and som rivers to worship, sing and dance. A silver image of mavji, a reincarnation of kalki, an avatar of lord vishnu is brought on
Horse back. Magic shows, acrobatic displays and merry-go-rounds add fun and frolic to the religious celebrations.

Gangaur festival, jaipur (mar.-apr.)

Gangaur is the most important local festival in Rajasthan. It is dedicated to gauri, a mani- festation of goddess parvati, the consort of lord shiva and the symbol of conjugal bliss and
Marital happiness. A festival of maidens and married women, it begins on the day following holi and is celebrated for eighteen days.

Colourful wooden images of gauri are beautiful dressed and bejewelled. Offerings are made in each home. The women add to the excitement by singing and dancing.

Processions are taken out with the town band playing. Escorts walk alongside their horses, followed by elaborate palanquins.

In jaipur the procession starts wi the image of gauri from the palace gate, known as tripolia, through the main street.

The festival is celebrated with great pomp and show in bikaner, jodhpur, nathdware and jaisalmer. During the festival, in the hadoti region of bundi, kota and jhalawar, the fields are covered
With blossoming poppy flowers. Maidens go forth to collect these flowers to make wreath for the goddess.

The garasia tribals who live in the sirohi-mount abu region, celebrate gangaur for a complete month. An unusual feature of their celebration is the procession of the gangaur image from
Village to village. The tribal youth have an opportunity of meeting freely and during this time, they select partners and marry by eloping. A romantic but strange custom, sanctioned by
Society.

Mewar festival, udaipur
(mar.-apr.)

This festival welcomes spring, offering the best overview of rajasthani culture through songs, dances, processions, devotional music and firework displays.

The evenings are made colourful with gangaur processions. The grand climax is seen when groups of women dressed in rainbow hues of scarlet, yellow, green and purple carry images to the gangaur ghat of lake pichhola, and a stately boat procession starts on from the lake palace.

Elephant festival jaipur
(mar.-apr.)

A festival when the mighty mammals claim the centre stage. They stride majestically parading their decorated trunks and tusks. The festival begins with a procession of elephants, camels and horses, followed by folk dancers at their entertaining best.

Spectators are enthralled with the elephant-polo matches. The sight of these heavy animals running to win the famous elephant race is truly amazing. The most hilarious highlight of the festival is a tug of war between elephants and men. A special show is also held after which a prize for the best decorated elephant is announced.

Urs ajmer sharif, ajmer

Held, according to the lunar calendar, in the memory of the saint khwaja moinuddin chisti, it is one of the biggest muslim fairs in india. The six day time that the saint is said to have gone into seclusion, to shed his mortal coil off and free his soul, are dedicated to his memory.

Pilgrims from all over the world gather here to pay homage. Quawwalis are sung and poets recite verses specially composed in the saint’s honour. Kheer, a milk pudding is cooked in the vast sixteenth century cauldrons, placed within the premises of the outer court.

Summer festival, mount abu
(june)

Mount abu, the venue for the summer festivals, is covered with mango groves, beautiful bauhinia trees and thickets of wild berries. Rocks and lakes and the picturesque locations of abu, stir with life during the festival.

In this pleasant climate, the three day carnival is a feast of folk and calssical music and window to the tribal festivities. The tourists hava a nice time enjoying and relaxing.

Teej, jaipur
(jul.-aug.)

This festival of swings marks the advent of the monsoon month of shravan (august). The monsoons bring water to the parched land and the scent of wet earth rises intoxicatingly in the air. Swings are hung from trees and decorated with flowers. Young girls sing songs of love and rain. This festival is dedicated to goddess parvati, commemorating the day when she was united with lord shiva.

Marwar festival, jodhpur
(oct.)

A festival devoted mainly to music and dance of the mrwar region. It was originally known as the ‘maand festival’, a classical style of folk music centered on the romantic lifestyle of Rajasthan’s rulers. Held for two days on full moon-sharad purnima, the folk artists bring to life the myth, legend and folklore of the area.

Raksha bandhan

On the full moon day of shravan (august), young girls and women celebrate this day by tying ‘rakhis’ (bracelets) made of ribbon, gold and sild threads on the wrist of thier brothers. The girl solemnly seeks her brother’s abiding protection in times of trouble and he pledges to come to her rescue. It is said the emperor humayun honoured the rakhi sent to him by the maharani
Karnavati of chittaur and tried to save the fort from the ruler of Gujarat for the house of the sisodias.

Pushkar fair, ajmer
(november)

Of singular improtance is the annual fair held at pushkar, near ajmer. Thousands of pilgrims come to bathe in the holy waters of the pushkar lake. Legend has it that the lake appeared miraculously on the spo, where petals of a lotus blossom fell from the hands of lord brahma, the creator.

Pushkar has an atmosphere of an ancient religious town, peaceful and secluded. But, for twelve days in the month of kartik, it is transformed into a spectacular fair ground. The fair is overwhelming in its magnitude and in its visual impact. Vendors peddle their dazzling range of wares in hundreds of roadside stalls. Beautiful camels raced and paraded are also bought and
Sold.

Gaily canopied booths selling snacks, sweetmeats, ice crushes, bangles, brassware, cloth and camel saddles and halters are a photographer’s delight.

In the evening, the entire amosphere reverberates with the ringing of bells. At night, hundreds of small oil lamps placed on green leaves, set the lake alight. Floated by worshippers after the arti puja, this act of worship is called ‘deepdan’.

A special tourist village complex is set up the Rajasthan tourism development corporation to cater to the rush. This not only offers tented accommodation, but also has a round-the-clock coffee shop, dining hall, tourist information counter, foreign currency exchage counter, post office and medical aid facilities.

Camel festival, bikaner
(january)

A festival where the hardy ships of the desert are seen at their best. A colourful spectable, the beautifully decorated camels fascinate the onlookers with their languid charm and grace. Acelebration of joyous music, lilting rhythms and gay festivities.